


AKA

by astridianmayfly



Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: Alternate Universe - Transcendence, F/F, F/M, Occasional gore/violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-15
Updated: 2017-11-14
Packaged: 2018-07-15 08:42:16
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 9
Words: 9,436
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7215469
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/astridianmayfly/pseuds/astridianmayfly
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The titles of Alcor the Dreambender go far beyond what your average cultist would believe. While he is the Lord of Nightmares and Devourer of Souls, he's also been known to many souls with much simpler names.</p><p>Brother. Friend. Uncle.</p><p>Even when names are the only memory he has left of his dying loved ones and his slowly crumbling sanity.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> I really should have posted this earlier. I had this idea in spring.
> 
> I plan for this to be a one- shot series based on the different and beautiful relationships Dipper has had with so many people that keep him anchored throughout the years.

  
A century before Alcor the Dreambender destroyed the world, he went house hunting.

Not literal house hunting, thank you very much,

(He thinks he had a home. Once, twice, maybe a couple times. Sure he'd experienced the feeling of a domain, a la mindscape, but it was different. Homes were an unexplainable feeling of light, the beating of a heart against someone's chest. Salty tears dripping down faces and that human function when your breath gets caught in your throat?)

But actually finding. A house. Because it moved.

And for some reason was bearing his mark, and was currently beckoning to him.

He promised himself that he wouldn't let his curiosity get the better of him, but the big something gave off such an aura of positivity and happiness that he wondered how something so positive could thrive bearing his mark.

He sensed it there, and tessered to the location.

What was this place?

He scrambled, searching his omniscience.

_The Wandering Shack, previously known as the Stanley Pines memorial Library, named after Stanley Pines himself. In Gravity Falls, Oregon, he first founded the establishment under the name 'The Murder Hut,' which was quickly changed due to its unattractive title to families. The building reopened in 1993 under the name, 'The Mystery Shac-_

Wait.

What was that?

Something twitched in the corner of the room, amidst the millions of years old furniture (how had it not decomposed yet?) and several layers of blankets and sheets.

He advanced slowly, prepared to show the thing that dared to challenge him, Alcor the Dreambender, prepared to rip it limb from limb and tear it-

When he saw what it was, he gasped.

It was a barely recognizable aura, a light of sorts. By opening his third eye, he checked- and realized that it didn't even exist on the physical plane.

_Then how was it making noise?_

Only later did he realize what it was.

This shack moved, didn't it? The thing must be alive, perhaps the "soul" of the shack itself.

The light crept forward slowly, and weaved into images with beautiful colors, indescribable to the human eye. They morphed and shifted, from grassy fields to rainbow cars to- was that a "World's Okayest Uncle" sweater?

The aura slowly changed until it appeared to be something like sunlight, slowly inching its way forward, closer and closer to his being. It shone on him, and formed a hand, or a finger-like structure.

And then it touched him.

Oh. _Oh._

And there they were- the feeling of them crashing down on him like bricks of hurt and love, the memories of the place that cluttered the corners and filled every nook and cranny of the shack. They hurt, and not the pain-is-hilarious kind of pain, the kind of a freshly opened scar that had been forgotten as time went on...

The pain truly didn't ever go away, did it?

How could he've let himself forget?

He searched and found in what was lost and now gained, sentiments of cracked bits and shards and pieces of the broken, messed up life of what they were.

_A flash of red hair, gleam of brass knuckles, the electricity spiraling out of a triangular portal, a taste of cotton candy and the distinct feeling of sweaters, loud music faintly speaking_

He wanted to remember, but for so long he had not felt, truly.

It was like a bubble popped, and the world around him was suddenly clear. He wanted to remember them all, he only had bits and snippets of intangible feelings.

He didn't even know her name.

_I could help, you know._

_Who are you?_

_I could help you remember._

_Why?_

B _ecause once upon a time you meant something to someone, and they meant something to you._

She reached out with her diamond fingers and he thought no more.


	2. Family

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First time writing shenanigans. Like, ever.

Dipper knew this was a bad idea.

Mabel refused to acknowledge his bad omen ("I don't want any more of your moping!") but Dipper knew better.

Seriously, who in their right mind would take an a family of seven out on a plane ride?

Especially a family who was extremely prone to trouble and chaos following them wherever they went?

Henry agreed with him mostly ("Mabel, Dipper can just blip us there or something!") but Mabel argued that they didn't spend enough time together anyway lately. Henry could always be persuaded by Mabel, so Dipper found himself corporeal, in normal clothes (white sclera and rounded ears now, damnit) walking with way too many bags down an extremely long, wide area.

"Mabel, why do I have to be corporeal anyway? I mean, it isn't more money for you as a ticket?"

"We're doing this as a family Dipper, and you aren't worming your way out of this one! Besides, you need to help me with the triplets," she glanced down at the baggage, "and carrying things."

Of course Mabel had brought at least 20 carry-ons ("For making sweaters while we're away!") each embellished with their own kinds of glitter and sequins in elaborate patterns. She'd also made each family member their own suitcase and tiny bag decorated in sequins and their name. He only had one last chance to back out.

"Mabel...." Dipper pouted.

"Quit your whining kid, I just sacrificed at least ten of my "most memorable items" from the gift shop so you could come," huffed Stan. "So I don't want to hear it."

Noticing the smug the expression on his sister's face, Dipper decided to shut up.

And the Pines family pressed on.

HOUR 1

"Baggage check for 'Pines,' please." Henry said, holding a fidgety Willow's hand.

The clerk nodded and clicked something on her computer. "Tickets, please?"

Henry had begun to pull the tickets out of his wallet, when the attendant caught sight of their luggage.

"Excuse me, but the limit for transatlantic flights is only seven carry on bags. Which should, considering you have seven people, be easy. The children could even share one."

Mabel's gaze turned sour. "Your job is unfortunately not to check the carry-ons, it's the main luggage that is carried in the cargo of the plane. I would stay out of it." Mabel's tone was dangerous. Dipper was distinctly reminded of her Mizar the Gleeful voice, the particularly low one drained of her usual cheeriness.

"Ma'am, does the title of 'Baggage Check' mean much to you? I check all luggage, not just heavy baggage," the woman said. Under her breath she continued, "But I wasn't aware that some of us cannot read."

Henry and Stan were both thinking the same thing, they grabbed Mabel's arm at the same time. Mabel whipped her head around, eyes flashing. "I can handle this myself," she growled lowly and snapped her head back around to face the woman. Dipper was truly terrified now; Mabel's aura had changed from peaceful yellows to a fearful, flashing red. Henry had let go of the triplets hands, so they waddled over to Dipper and hung on to his arm, almost fearfully.

Mabel leaned on the desk. "You can't make me get rid of these items, I'm afraid."

"No," bellowed the clerk, "but I can get rid of you."

By this time, the two raised voices of the women were attracting a small crowd. Out of the corner of his eye, Dipper noticed a police officer staring, and had begun to head over to check out the commotion....

Dipper had had enough. He pushed Mabel out of the way and reached out to the clerk's mindscape.

HOUR 1.5

Long story short, the woman (and the surrounding crowd) lost their memories for the low threat of the woman's life. Mabel had thankfully returned to her normal self, if not slightly more mischievous, like a child who hadn't gotten caught stealing the last cookie. Dipper was extremely proud of himself for thinking up that one- he really got the scary demon thing down that time.

For celebration, and because they had a lot of time before their flight, Mabel took everyone to one of the airport restaurants for a small bite to eat before they boarded.

Dipper thought of something.

"Hey Mabel?"

"Yeah?"

"Can I have a milkshake because I saved you?"

Mabel brightened. "Sure!"

"Two?"

"Okay..."

"Three....?"

Mabel narrowed her eyes and wagged a finger at him. "Don't push it."

HOUR 2

Now for the hard part: security.

Dipper wasn't sure if the airports lately had any supernatural precautions- he hadn't been on a plane since The Incident. He was just going to normally follow Mabel, Henry, Stan, and the kids through security.

_Right, normal._ Thought Dipper.

_I got this._

HOUR 2.5

He so didn't got it.

His palms were already starting to sweat. He helped the other adults put their 20 carry ons on the security conveyer belt, and was about to follow Mabel through.

She walked through. Green light flashed.

His turn. _Come on Dipper, it's ok...._

He walked, and turned around.

Red.

He gave the lady a tight smile and kept walking, but she stopped him in his tracks.

"I'm sorry sir, could you do that again?"

She motioned him backwards, and he walked around the large gateway.

He tried again, trying to be casual.

Red.

The security lady beckoned him towards her. Dipper looked at the floor, fantasizing about the crazy questions she might ask him. What are you? Why do you keep setting off the metal detector? He shuffled forward, expecting the worst when-

"Are you wearing any metal objects or jewelry that may set of the detector?"

That gave Dipper an idea. He stuck his hand in his pocket, casually, and manifested a large, golden pocket watch. "Would something like this set it off?"

Damn it, Dipper could become an immortal dream demon but he couldn't lose the way his voice cracked under pressure. Thank the stars Mabel wasn't here to see this.

The security lady nodded nonchalantly. "Yeah, probably would. You can go ahead now."

Sighing in relief, Dipper walked ahead to join his family. When he saw what was going on at the end of the conveyer belt, he was extremely compelled to turn in the other direction. One of the staff members was questioning Mabel and another was talking to Stan. Knowing those two, that probably was not a good sign. He inched closer, trying not to get involved.

"-is there metal in your bag? It seems we have detected something. Sir, would you mind telling me exactly what that is?"

Stan laughed, a little too hard. "What would I need metal for? Crafting goblin shoes? I'm the goddamn- sorry kids- elf moccasins warlock?" Stan said, wiggling his fingers. "Actually though. No metal here. Really."

The attendant was not amused. "Sir, I am legally authorized by the government to be able to search your bag."

"You know what's not legal? Your face!"

At this point, Dipper turned his gaze to Mabel, who was facing relatively the same issue as Stan was, except she was handling it a whole lot better.

"Excuse me ma'am, why do you have a metal string foiled around something in your bag?"

Mabel waved the query off casually. "Oh, that's just my necklace. It's probably tangled around one of my books or something."

"Would you mind if we checked your bag?" The attendant asked.

"No, not at all," Mabel declared. She was confident in her response, but Dipper noticed that her voice wavered towards the end of her claim.

Dipper sucked in his breath. This could not be anything good.

HOUR 3

So that was the story of how the entire Pines family ended up in the airport security office.

The concerned (and scared now) flight attendant told them to wait. In the time they were alone in the office, Mabel turned to Dipper and held out her hand. "A bag of candy when we get off the plane for blipping us out of here right now."

Dipper shook his head. "I don't want candy."

Henry sputtered. "Honestly Dipper, we don't have time for this." Rubbing his face in his hands he continued, "just get us out of here."

"Only if she admits it!" Dipper said tauntingly.

"Admits what?" Mabel exclaimed incredulously. "C'mon Dipper..."

Dipper gave her a look.  
Mabel threw up her hands. "Ugh, fine! You were right!"

"And?" Dipper prompted.

"This was a bad idea! Now get us out of here!"

Dipper grabbed their hands and phased out of reality.

When they arrived right next to where they were supposed to board, Henry looked around and paled.

"Shit!"

  
"What?" Dipper asked.

"You forgot Hank!"

Miraculously, they were still in time for their fight.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things you should know:
> 
> 1\. The triplets are 3 years old.  
> 2\. The Pines are going to California. Piedmont, probably.  
> 3\. Stan's bag had his brass knuckles in it.  
> 4\. Mabel's had her Mizar bat.  
> 5\. Gold blood does set off the metal detector, mods. It really does.


	3. Twin Star

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A short chapter, but an extremely important one.

He liked the stars.

They'd always held certain significance in his life- his relation with Mabel, his unique birthmark. There was more behind it, he thought. And the realization of his love for the celestial bodies exploded on him one day.

They were always there- gleaming in the sky. Smiling back at him because they could. Each one of them would implode and explode and throw beams of colorful sunlight for their last hurrah, and ribbons of color and greens and reds would expand into the night, ruffling a little in the wake of the night.

And no matter how many would supernova, more suns would wink into existence to light galaxies.

They were always, eternally there.

The grass would wilt and shiver, and the once dancing leaves would brush to the floor in waves of gold. Trees would fall, fire would die, only legacy left by it were columns of ominous smoke drifting, drifting into the sky.

\------

He hated the damn stars.

They were always there. A symbol, an illusion of permanence. That things stay, that they didn't get older and older and leave him. That mortals didn't flicker and fade and die, like bubbles popping in the summer sun, gone before they can shimmer, legacies dying like the soapy residue...

That was the worst part of the world. That things would change. That people left. Because the stars tricked us into loving, opening hearts just so people could leave and leave and leave and leave and never come back, never be there again.

Then again, he finally understood why they were maybe so cruel. They were the ones that were cursed with near immortality, light years away from their neighbor.

He may have been the Forgotten One, but that didn't mean that he didn't have anyone.

Even though Mizar died and died again, and her supernova was a constant, continuous, cycle, her consciousness over with the blink of an eye, he could still pretend that death was a legend when she fearlessly welcomed him, the nefarious demon, into her home and said hello, time and time again.

And he could hold her in his arms and pretend that forever was so.

 


	4. The Town: Part One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They always had been aquatinted with the weird, so it was natural they would accept him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I probably should've posted this awhile ago but I'm doing this all from mobile.
> 
> This is section 1/5 of Dipper's awesome relationship with the town, and how they don't give a shit about who he is and what he does.

The day was much stranger than Dipper would have ever guessed it could've been.

He was in Gravity Falls of all places, the town had always been an odd concoction of the good, the bad, and the weird, sure, not to mention it literally teemed with the supernatural. The had started the day off by waking up corporeal. That was a rare event in itself, not to mention the whole sleeping thing that he could do when he was physical. Man, he never realized how awesome sleeping was until he spent his nights wide-awake and contemplating the harsh realities of his new life.

That was around the time he felt the pull of a extremely strong and needy summons.

Dipper groaned. He really didn't want to spend his time physical listening to insane cultists blabber on and on about ruling the world and infinite wealth. He could already be seen inside the circle, plus, it was nice to do regular people-y things, like feeling his feet on the ground for once, and actually eating. Add those to the list of 'Things Underestimated About Being Human,' which probably grew a foot with each passing day.

Unfortunately for him, he had no way of resisting summons as strong as these (he was really going to have to ask Mabel to help him on that one, because he was getting so sick of having to be pulled to every single freaking summon and could demons get tired because damn, lately he felt so worn out!) and allowed himself to be pulled to the place where he was being called to.  
  
Dipper found himself in a light-filled area (was this outdoors?) and was automatically confused. The change of scenery was enough to startle him into forgetting the script that Mabel and Grunkle Stan had rehearsed for awhile, leaving him gaping in shock at his summoners.

At his feet rested the entire town of Gravity Falls, glancing up at him hopefully.

Dipper was... Shocked? Sheepish? Mildly Ashamed? Feeling a voice crack coming on? Yes, yes he was.

"Um, hi?" Squeaked Dipper, extremely embarrassed. Ever since The Incident, he hadn't really hung around the town much. He acknowledged them, and of course said hello, but he had never engaged in anything with the townspeople other than polite remarks and occasional small talk. They never judged him, and he always felt accepted, but he'd always been slightly cautious under the presence of anyone who wasn't family since his transformation.

Speaking of family....

"Mabel? Grunkle Stan? Why are you here?"

Mabel laughed. "Oh you know, plotting, scheming, leaving trails of butterscotch wrappers, making nacho earrings." Mabel looked up at him. "Hey, you want a pair? They'd look _really_ good with your new-"

Dipper left the circle to put his hand over her mouth. He quickly phased out of reality to avoid the inevitable lick from Mabel.

The citizens of Gravity Falls shifted beside him. Reading their auras, Dipper could tell they felt slightly awkward, but he felt no fear whatsoever rolling off of them. This realization alone caused Dipper to swell with pride for his town.

Realizing why he here, Dipper managed to squeak out, "So, do you guys want a deal or something?"

Tyler, who was still the mayor, appeared to be the town's spokesperson. "We would like to propose a situation."

"Are you guys sacrificing my family to me?" Dipper said in a surprised tone.

"No, of course not!" Chortled Lazy Susan. "Look around you!"

And for the first time, Dipper finally took in his surroundings. Wagon trains. Donkeys. The Gravity Falls museum's free admission sign.

It could only mean one thing: Pioneer Day.

It clicked for Dipper, and suddenly the mayor leaned towards him and whispered, "Here's the deal. I will give you these"- motioning towards his hand, "butterscotch candies if you can promise me one thing."

He handed Dipper several tomatoes and pointed towards Stan.

In a deathly voice, he declared his wishes.

"GIT 'EM!"

The day was much stranger than Dipper could have imagined.

But hey. There was nothing wrong with a little weird, and he sure as hell was going to spend this extraordinary day throwing tomatoes at Stan and taking advantage of free admission to the Gravity Falls Museum.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know if I got any of the facts about gravity falls. Like the mayor. Or Pioneer Day. Is that what it's called?


	5. Saplings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Scarlett was used to thriving on her own.
> 
> Unfortunately, your average thirteen year old survivor doesn't exactly have unlimited knowledge of how to deal with kidnapping extremists and demonic monsters.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mild profanity warning for this chapter.
> 
> Based on this prompt from anon on my tumblr: Could you do the woodsman or Stan? OR BOTH?!?

Scarlett had had bad days.

She'd scavenged crumbs to feed herself and Sage, almost fell into a lake trying to find clean, drinking water, and damn it, had been on the run from the so-called 'helpful' adults who would only help her by sticking her and Sage's asses in foster care. Hell, she'd chewed her way out of a goddamn car which was most most definitely not an experience she would want to repeat. Yet nothing could trump the sketchy, robed adults who had grabbed her and Sage in town claiming to want to 'purify' them.

Extremists and their bullshit.

Speaking of bullshit...

"You girls are going to be SO much better off when we're done with you!" The man who was in the passenger seat. (In the car it was she and Sage crammed into the back, while the woman driving the car and the man were livin' it up in the front. Couldn't they do these child- stealing activities in style?!?) It was meant to be reassuring, but it wasn't going to be exactly a heartwarming statement from the person who had kidnapped them off the street.

They could deny it. But Scarlett would always see what was in front of others' faces, something that no one could seem to really comprehend.

The fucking truth.  
-

It had been so easy to find them.

They easily stood out in town, shorter than everyone else and very clearly with no parents or guardians. The best kind of convertees, orphans desperate for food and love. They'd believe anything- and probably do anything- she would tell them.

She turned around to glance at the children she had rescued. The elder one could be no more than thirteen or fourteen, and the younger one had to be at least four or five.

Innocent. Pure. Delightfully clueless.

She drove on.

-

As they neared the woods, Scarlett weighed her options.

She had already finished the checklist of How to Not Scar This Poor Innocent Child. She'd played finger games with Sage, seat-danced with her, and even sang (which got a 'what the hell are you doing' from the male driving) all the while she tried to hatch an escape plan.

She sure as hell wasn't going to stay in this hot car waiting to be exorcised or whatever these creeps were going to do to the-

And that was right about the time that the car abruptly spun around and crashed into a tree.

-  
Sage didn't really know what was going on.

Scarlett and her were 'borrowing' food in town, when a man and a woman in weird robes had told them they had food in their car. Sage knew exactly what food was. It meant she could go a day without feeling all rumbly inside.

She had ran to the car, and suddenly Scarlett was chasing her and calling her name and big arms were holding her down and the door to the car was shut and she kicked and screamed and Scarlett was yelling and saying Very Bad Things but _theywouldn'tletgoohno-_

That was enough for Sage to know that these people were Very Bad People- not even to mention the glint in Scarlett's eye. It reminded her so much of the time there was a rogue wendigo in the camp. Scarlett had gone all stiff and her eyes were wide and narrowed and a predatory shine in her eyes saying, "Try to kill me, I dare you."

Scarlett's head was in her hands and the car was spinning like that park ride she had a slight memory of and she felt woozy SCARLETT HELP-

And suddenly she and Scarlett were lifted from the car.

-

The day literally could not have gone fucking worse.

This experience was the single weirdest thing that she'd ever seen, and she'd scared off a wendigo once by dangling her mother's silver necklace in front of its face and waving a torch like a madman.

She had gotten abducted, thrown into a car, only to have it crash a half and hour later, and suddenly she and Sage were being lifted out of the car by a weirdass demon-humanoid tallish thing- and were those antlers?!?

She embraced death. Prepared herself to be eaten, or her soul taken, or whatever-

-When she felt herself slowly being set on to the ground.

She stared at the giant creature, a pale, ghostly white color. Scarlett stared into its merciless orbs, glassy and feeling. They glowed as well in a technicolor way. The eye color was undefinable- they appeared to be white lights, where the rainbow should shimmer like unfallen tears and the shining would appear everywhere like electric blue flames kissing wood.

She stared and asked one question:

_Why?_

He, she, it, did not speak. It was not silent, however, its quiet voice sounded like the sounds of laughter on the breeze and the echo of caves and the screams of many, and begging for mercy and the rustling of branches and squeaky door hinges and rain pitter-pattering on jungle leaves and the parting of seas and the moving of mountains.

Yet, somehow, its non-existent voice spoke one word through the life and death and suffering and beauty of nature and the big, wide, wonderful world:

_Sapling._

Scarlett nodded, and grabbed Sage's hand. She knew that for the left behind people in the car there'd be hell to pay, for what they'd done to he/she/it/their saplings.

(That sounded like bullshit, but eh. She was still alive.)

She also know it would have something to do with the Crimson hands hanging off those stick-like antlers.

So she grabbed Sage's hand, and ran.

-

"What the-"

Her breath was caught in her throat, she grabbed God's symbol, the Lord could protect her here, the Lord could help her from the unholy creature standing before her, eyes burning blue and smile perfectly inhuman.

"What the hell are you?" Her comrade said.

No words or sound was exchanged, but between the rusty axe dripping with blood and the menacing hands waving slowly in the breeze in time with the wind and the goddamn fire in its eyes, the answer was crystal, exactly, perfectly, horrifyingly, clear.

_Your worst nightmare._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little r!Stan and r!Ford.
> 
> I apologize for hiatus, all due to procrastination and being busy ;(


	6. Bright One

Dipper Pines and Mabel Pines were two halves of a whole, and all their teachers knew that. All their classmates knew it. In fact, the whole town was probably aware of the inseparable, “mystery twins.” They were complementary opposites, yin and yang, black and white, sun and moon.

But then the transcendence happened. And the planets began to fall out of alignment.

Before the magic detonation exploded worldwide, the kids were predictably, well, predictable. Mabel Pines was sunshine and glitter and contained loyalty in her soul of the deepest kind. Everyone liked Mabel. And those who didn’t only detested her for her extreme optimism in any situation.

And they truly did like Mabel. She was the teacher’s favorite, always the one described as “a bright kid.”

And bright she was. But she was not Dipper Pines.

Dipper was more of a mystery to his classmates, a social predicament of the nerdy breed. But he was awkward in a curious, problem-solving way where his answers to questions only left you more confused. Mabel was “the bright kid.” But Dipper was the genius. Dipper was the seventh grader doing calculus, the one who left everyone scratching their heads at his marveling stamina and problem-solving ethics. He left teachers stunned, classmates blown away, and the town’s ultimate appreciation.

Yes, Mabel was liked. But Dipper was respected. And suddenly all of Mabel Pine’s glowing, fantastical brightness and vivid imagination and superb loyalty was dulled by the comparison of her brother, the child genius.

She wasn’t jealous of her bro-bro! I mean, he was a _huge_ dork! She didn’t really like the idea of leading a study group or whatever, _psssh_ , that was _so_ not her style.

But suddenly she wasn’t just “not as good at math.” Now the whispers were calling out Mabel Pines as the ‘stupid one.’

**Mabel Pines was not the mathematical Einstein. But Mabel Pines was under no circumstances stupid.**

—-

When Mabel Pines sold her soul to the devil, her future reincarnations mentally yelled at her for the stupidest decision she could’ve ever, ever made. Their silent screams begged for her to stop her in motion, after all, _was she even thinking??_

Mabel was thinking. Just not of herself.

She was thinking of the dead look in her brother’s eyes if she passed away. She was thinking of the blood-covered floors and Henry, staring at the wall for hours and avoiding anyone’s glance. She thought of Stan and Ford, uncles and faux-parents, pretending that nothing was wrong while avoiding staring at images they had seen of her on Dipper’s flashing wings, beat-up, cut-open, ripped apart. She was thinking of the demon that she kept tethered on a metaphorical chain, rising up and destroying the world in his own pain and agony.

Losing a sister, losing a lover, losing a friend.

Losing a soul.

The odds weren’t exactly bent in her favor. But Mabel was thinking, all right. Maybe with her heart and head, conspiring in unison.

**Mabel Pines was not the mathematical Einstein. But Mabel Pines was under no circumstances stupid.**


	7. Can't Live With Them, Can't Live Without Them

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I WILL UPDATE MY OTHER FIC ONCE MY BALLET COMPETITION IS OVER YOU ONLY HAVE TO WAIT LIKE THREE WEEKS IM SO SORRY

This had been like, the fifth time.

In the course of about fifty years.

Dipper rubbed his temples and groaned.  _ Why, why was it always him?!?! Why couldn’t someone else deal with humanity’s issues. _

If there was anything that Dipper had learned from this tedious and exasperating experience it was the fact that demons didn’t have  _ shit _ on humans when it came to instilling havoc and destroying the world. A single species had nearly wiped out the Earth. And five consecutive times, they’d made their species extinct.

One may ask how a species becomes extinct five separate times. After being extinct already. With no means of reproduction.

The answer was magic. Or more specifically, an incredibly, award-winningly lenient Dipper.

Dipper didn’t  _ have _ to recreate their genome and amino acids and cellular compounds that were the building blocks of life. No, he could just lay around, maybe socialize with some less significantly annoying species for awhile. Kick his feet up for a couple hundred years. 

He didn’t have to do this.

They’d almost destroyed Earth for other species, anyway…

Why was he doing this.

Seriously. What had humanity ever done for him?

Stupid question. Literally everything.

_ Ugh. _

_ Can’t live with them, can’t live without them.  _

Here he went again. 

\----

When the first human was birthed and genetically crafted, a message came down from the sky:

_ “If you fuckers destroy the goddamn world again I will solely make sure that you never return to this world. Ever. Again. Do you understand me?” _

They didn’t, apparently.

**  
Turns out that attempting to drive a pre-recreated race tractor being discovered was a pretty efficient way to kill the only three humans alive.   
**


	8. Protector

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> here's some fluff ;) i hope everyone likes this one

For the first time in seemingly forever, children had hope. 

 

Hope because the children believed that they didn’t ever had to be victims again.

 

Hope because they didn’t like when they were taunted and hit and hurt and starved, “to show them.”

 

Hope because Little Dan’s clever plot of summoning The Protector had possibly given them a chance of escape. 

 

Dan had come to them after being taken from a playground about a month ago, and his absence in his parents’ life was only meant to produce money for the cult from the ransom they would most likely pay. He’d shown up with eyebrows narrowed in confusion, a tattered shirt, with a funny little star pendant hanging on his neck. And he'd had a  _ name,  _ not a number! 

 

The rest of the children had been bred within the cult itself, raised on the taste of fear and the horrors of never-ending servitude. But from the moment that Dan was teleported into their cult’s small and high-security location (they didn’t know where. The Keeper always refused to tell them when they asked) he had given the children a priceless gift of imagination.

 

He wove stories out of thin air, stories of lemon-drop houses and places where the walls were made of rain that tickled you when you touched it. Tales that kept the children entranced; stories where happy children bounded through meadows of sugar-canes and grass, sucking lollipops and falling down to laugh and stare at the clouds.

 

The children had never laughed before. They’d never seen the need to.

 

Dan’s stories filled the kids with a sort of unfulfilled hunger and desire to see what they’d always been warned to not intrude on: The outside world. They dreamed of these place in which to live, witness, observe, see; where to talk with others listening, to pursue happiness, to find love, to be children.

 

And that was when Dan stole a paper from The Keeper. One with a summoning circle on it.

 

They were going to escape, and Dan’s Protector was going to help.

 

\--

At a time that most of the Bad People were doing something somewhere else, Little Dan slipped out of his cage and unlocked everyone else from their solidarity confinement. The large group adjourned in the tiny center of the first- floor prison, squished together towards the back of the hall in an effort to give Dan space. Rumors and hushed but triumphant whispers bounced from child to child, discussing the radical act The Newbie was about to commit. 

 

Dan mimicked the drawing on the coveted paper; an odd sort of circle with lots of lines and symbols that would be too hard to copy if any of the other children attempted to draw it themselves. But Dan, their hero, could of course; he was unstoppable in the face of any conquering threat.

 

He used chalk, which the other children had stolen sometimes to draw pictures on the inside of their cell walls. They would receive beatings for stealing and possessing anything relatively nice for a millisecond, but it was worth the long-lasting color on the otherwise gloomy chamber.

 

The littlest of the children, #618, piped up from the back of the room. 

 

“Little Dan?”

 

“Yeah?”

 

#618 shuffled their feet nervously. “Who is this, ‘Protector’, exactly?”

 

Dan scratched his head. “I dunno, actually. My daddy and mommy used to sketch this to make someone come in our house that they called ‘The Protector.’ They would draw this circle, put a bit of blood inside,  and chant some funny words- See those at the bottom of the paper? And then weird smoke would rise and a guy who they bowed at would come up and he has a top hat that's really cool!! But before I got stoled he hadn't come in two years which made daddy and mommy sad, something about ‘he's not answering summonings as often anymore’ but when I was in Keeper’s office, I saw a circle and I just  _ knew  _ it was a sign that we’re all gonna be happy and safe real soon, and I'll see mommy and daddy again and they won't have to pay the bad guys money! And we can have a extra hotel for everyone and we can all eat pancakes every day- that's what my mom makes at home- okay now let's get started!”

 

#618 frowned, “What did you-”

 

The rest of the children told him to stop being a butt and if he didn't shut his butthole he wouldn't see the sun for another month.

 

#618 promptly shut up.

 

The next 20 minutes passed in a blur. The children faded off into a trance, wondering when something interesting would happen. Finally, just as the children were practically bored to death, Dan boomed out in finality, “Alcor!” 

 

And then, just like Dan said, funny smoke rose out of the circle! 

 

The smoke glowed and hissed, snaking between a few wondrous children’s legs. It reached the center of the circle, provided a beautiful beacon of light for the dimly lit area. 

 

It quickly transformed into the shape of a man, with fluffy brown hair and cool eyes! He even had a cool flappy suit with a silly top hat! AND wings!!!He was even better than they imagined!! 

 

Dan squealed. “Protector! I knew you would come for me!!” 

 

The man looked surprised quickly, and then his expression softened into a friendly smile. “Hey there, Dan! Are these your friends?”

 

Dan turned back to the children, hand cupped over his mouth. In a stage whisper he gasped out, “Mommy told me he knows  _ everything!  _ See, he even knows my _ name!!” _

 

The children murmured in a susurrus of approval behind him and the summoning circle. 

 

Dan turned back to their savior.

 

“We wanna get out and away from the bad guys!”

 

The Protector peered at them inquisitively. “That sounds perfectly fine with me, but where would you want to go?” His voice was powerful but soothing and soft, and it calmed the skeptical children towards the back of the crowd. It was a lullaby of sorts; reassuring, peaceful, and friendly.

 

Dan looked at the children, then back again. “We wanna be with my parents again!”

 

The Protector laughed; a kind, thoughtful, chuckle that sounded like mischievous church bells and thunder. “Sounds good to me, kids!”

 

Cheers and cries of utter jubilation erupted and rang about in the hall. Spurred on by the excitement, Dan seemed ready and prepared for what to do next. He thrust out his hand for The Protector to shake, finalized the miraculous covenant. 

 

Blue fire from the hands of The Protector bathed Dan in a delightful shimmer. 

 

A fanged grin and a flash of drool was all the warning the children needed to sense that something was very, very wrong. 

 

\--

 

When Dipper came back to himself and remembered, he mourned for something like a decade.

 

His omniscience provided a sharp and clear memory, a curse, reminding the scale of just what he had done. 

 

His stomach churned at how he had twisted the kid’s deal. To be reunited with parents.  _ Dead _ parents. Parents who were members of the Dreamer’s Star, who had hysterically and foolishly summoned him to seek the location of their missing son. 

 

Parents he killed. Parents that were dead. 

 

Ripping, tearing. Biting, gnashing. 

 

Children's blood on his hands.

 

Children's souls in his mouth. 

 

When he lost himself, the only thing protectable was the thirst for blood, death, murder, and fear. 

 

Demons happen to like a twist of meaning.

 

A Protector, yes? 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SIKE LOOK AT THAT TWIST


	9. Handyman

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it's been so long TAU

  1. The Comedian



 

“Dipper! We have much to discuss!”

 

Soos smiled as he watched Dipper fade into the circle nonchalantly. Fluffy brown hair and a wilting suit greeted Soos and his childlike greeting. Tired (powerful, golden) eyes stared at him from inside the circle. “Hey, Soos.”

 

“So Mr. Pines told me that you and Mabel are comin’ up Gravity Falls this weekend! Are you excited?”

 

Something froze in Dipper’s face. But as soon as the expression came, it was replaced with a forced smile. “Yeah, Mabel's really excited to be coming to school here. She's got a lot of friends in her grade.”

 

Soos, to his enduring credit, did not question the unusual circumstances of the twins moving towns and schools in the middle of high school. Or the fact that Dipper only talked about Mabel's prospects. He knew that the discussion about the process of the move to the Falls had been riddled with the awkwardness of Mark and Anna’s lack of understanding of this new world they lived in. “Cool! So anyway-”

 

Dipper cut him off mid-sentence. “I'd love to stay and chat, but I can't be here for long unless we make a-” his mouth puckered- “deal.”

 

“Oh yeah, almost forgot.” Soos grabbed a couple bags of chips out from a stash he had under the counter. He tossed them at Dipper in the circle. “How much time?”

 

Dipper stared at the bags and made an executive decision. “I'd say something like 45 minutes.”

 

(If it weren't Soos, the chips would be worth way less. But. The Family Exception was still intact, and Soos was as good as a Pines.)

 

“I actually need some help from you, dood.” 

 

Dipper smiled. “What this time?”

 

Soos gave Dipper a faux serious face. “It's really serious, dood.”

 

“Oh yeah?”

 

“Wanna go under the porch and stick money into the cracks and see Stan’s reaction?”

 

“Was that even a question? Also, I'm putting a bucket of ice water above the door. It's always good to be prepared.”

 

“I’ve heard mayonnaise is better.”

 

“Don’t push it, old man.” 

 

  1. The Electrician



 

Splintering but soft cedar wood adorned the carved door of Soos’ second home, a rickety old weather vane creaking softly as the luminous suns of other galaxies beamed into focus. It was a breezy midnight, emerald evergreens rustling unsurely as the wind roped and snatched at the pine trees decorating the remote shack. He wasn’t positive why Stan had asked him to come to the house, but he said it was something about an electricity error. Soos observed this to be true, the usual golden glow of the lantern in the front of the house was absent from view.

 

A precocious gale grabbed at Soos’ skin, goosebumps rising to greet the eerie morning. With the change of wind Soos was reminded of just how  _ cold  _ autumns in Oregon were. He reached to knock a third time (having misplaced the pair of keys Mr. Pines gave him) when the door abruptly swung open. With his weight placed in the balls of his feet, Soos nearly fell over by the surprise of his handhold removed. After readjusting his balance, Soos took one look at Mr. Pines at the front door and had to do a double take.

 

Stan looked like a wreck; his shirt untucked,  buttons undone, and tie untied around his neck. His burgundy fez was practically defying gravity at the corner of his scalp. Soos supposed the only thing holding it up was the friction of unruly, greasy hair. He looked more wrinkly than he should, even for an older man, and his mouth was downturned into an unrelenting frown. His brow was furrowed and his posture bent with the labor of hardship. 

 

He looked like a father.

 

With an arm bent casually on the frame, Mr. Pines scratched his head and greeted Soos bluntly: “Hey Soos. Electricity’s off.” 

 

Soos pointed up at the forlorn lantern. “I noticed.”

 

“I’ll help you fix it, but could you get a move on? I was in the middle of something,” Stan said gruffly, ushering Soos into the house.

 

Soos had a suspicion that Stan wasn’t the one in the house who cared if the electricity was back on or not. But he complied.

 

“Sure thing, Mr. Pines.”

 

Soos meandered into the house, a hard feat; with six cardboard boxes stacked up at the entrance. “Don’t mind those, it’s just the kids’ stuff.” Stan mumbled something under his breath that sounded like, “I told them that people were gonna have a hard time getting in, but did they listen?  _ Noooo Grunkle Stan, we don’t  _ wanna….”

 

Soos had almost forgot Dipper and Mabel were at the house, and had arrived three days prior. He was fixing a floorboard upstairs when the twins got to the Shack (their new home), and only saw a flash of Mabel’s sweater before she disappeared into her room and closed the door. She chattered for a bit, to who he assumed was Dipper, and then exited the room when Mr. Pines yelled to them down for dinner. She shrieked “Coming!” and was about to plummet down the stairs until Soos called out to her across the hallway.

 

“Sup, dood?” He said with open arms.

 

Naturally, Mabel came barreling towards his embrace at the speed of light. “Ohmigosh Soos! I missed you so much!”

 

Soos laughed. “We’re like, roommates now! ‘Cept Stan only lets me sleep in the break room on Saturdays. Something about ‘being an adult now’ and ‘just get married already…’”

 

Mabel snorted and jokingly punched his arm. “Soos, you are just too funny! How’s Melody?”

 

He beamed. “She’s doing great! Hey there, Dipper!” 

 

Soos directed his question to the left of Mabel, praying that he was standing (floating) there. He always did this after the incident that racked the world the summer of 2012, and had left Dipper invisible and slightly demonic. Soos believed that he was there, not only because he had utmost faith in Mabel, but also due to the fact that Dipper had a  _ presence.  _ After that fateful event during the summer, during the couple days where the town was convinced Dipper had died, he would often feel the hairs on the back of his necks stand up randomly. Upon checking the thermostat, he one time watched the temperature drop by a couple degrees and then shoot back up again. Soos, at the time, had passed off these events as unrelated and insignificant occurrences. But in hindsight, he was almost sure an intangible Dipper was hovering past him, screaming for recognition.

 

Mabel smiled. “Dipper says he’s doing okie-dokie.”

 

Soos was about to say something else to Dipper, when he was interrupted by Mabel conversing with the air. “Dipper, there’s no way I’m repeating th- Can you stop interrupting me? Thanks. What? Oh yeah, I’ll tell him.” Mabel shifted her gaze back to Soos. “Dipper says that he’ll tell you where your missing screwdriver is if you give him a piece of candy.”

 

Soos grinned. “Sure thing dood! I’ve been looking for that all day.” Soos grabbed a skittles packet out of his pocket. He tossed it to Mabel, who handed it to thin air. Soos tried not to gape as the packet disappeared out of the air, but internally he shrugged and thought to himself:  _ Honestly? I’ve seen weirder.  _

 

Soos was shaken out of his memory by the whine of floorboards coming from the upstairs. Stan grumbled.

 

Soos peered up at the peeling ceiling. “What woke them up?”

 

Stan gave Soos a frighteningly soulful gaze. “They’ve been awake the whole night, apparently. I woke up to every single lightbulb in the house breaking.” 

 

“How did that happen?”

 

Stan didn’t answer his question. “I'm going to grab some spare light bulbs in the basement.” He typed in the code to the vending machine and ventured downstairs.

 

The house went quiet for a moment, and Soos heard whispers from the top of the stairs. He only caught snippets of what assumed was the twins talking.

 

“Dipper…”

 

“All my fault…”

 

“It's not a big deal….a goober…”

 

“.....is Mabel.”

 

“No one cares…. Soos will fix it…. Stan called…”

 

He only heard something else, something that could only be described as a sniffle. The house tremored with the sob, and settled down until nothing more remained.

 

The house plunged into darkness, and Soos was left to stare at the glass on the floor. It glimmered like the eyes of a crying child. 

 

Soos went to the front hall closet and grabbed the broom. Broken parts had no place in his home.

 

  1. The Contortionist 



 

Soos was in his break room, and the walls were screaming. 

 

They thrummed in and out, ebbing and flowing. Soos had tried the door when the earthquake-like effects had begun, but his efforts were useless. It didn't seem to be locked, almost like the actual door was glued to the frame. He felt the wood, hoping to force it open, and yelped when a piece of it splintered off and jammed itself into his finger. From under the door, an incredibly bright light shone. 

 

And there was screaming. Anguished screaming. 

 

All of a sudden, the walls were pressing in.

 

His heart in his throat, he could only do so much as whimper as the walls caved in-

 

-He woke in cold sweat. 

_ Justadreamjustadreamjustadreamjustadream _

 

Soos didn’t think he was going to sleep in the break room anymore. It didn’t really seem like a game, suddenly. 

 

He returned to sleeping, however, and found that the rest of his dreams that night were padded with fluff and grass.

 

And strange-looking sheep, for some reason.

 

  1. The Thrill Seeker



 

Mabel was sad. 

 

Some days the sun was shining, and some days it rained. But when it was too hot to bear in the dead of summer, it suddenly became fun when she declared to race around the house to see who could find the fans fastest, and then it wasn't so bad anymore. In the middle of winter, the miserably frigid air indicated a game to see who could make the most snowballs, and you would feel yourself warm from the inside. With Mabel, the blah stratus clouds of a lazy Sunday became sugar-spun silver and thunder the burp of a god. The world could be raining around them, and Mabel would play games to see who could catch a souvenir of their broken sky. They said love was a weakness, but her positivity ignited everyone into action against the evil. 

 

The sharpest knife was her sadness, and it clawed at Soos’ heartstrings. “What's got you down? Talk to Soos. According to Wendy, I'm like, a genius at this kind of thing.”

 

Mabel sighed. “It's not a big deal! It's just, well… you know those annoying bird-faeries?” Soos nodded solemnly. “I left the window open for them, because I saw a small colony of poor little ones struggling to make a nest.”

 

Soos closed his eyes profoundly. “Mabel, you are a saint.” 

 

Mabel smiled sadly. “Yeah, yeah. Well anyways, they took my knitting needles, which was fine, I didn't really need that pair anyways. I had a better pair, pink bedazzled ones! And then they took those to make their nests, which was a little disappointing, but I could always make another glitter pair, so I didn't really mind. But today I woke up and twenty of my best sweaters were-” She sniffed- “ _ stolen!  _ I thought Dipper or Stan might've moved them or pranked me or something, but when I walked outside today the dumb birds had a  _ mansion- nest!!” _

 

“It's ok to be sad, Mabel! I know how hard you worked on those.”

 

Mabel sighed. “And it wasn't even that that made me sad. I had some gifts in there for holidays and upcoming birthdays and stuff. I know I'm being selfish to be so upset about something so silly, but,” she paused. “I really, really liked those sweaters. They were really authentic, you know?”

 

Soos let out a deep sigh. “I know how the ruining of hard work can be discouraging. It is important to remember that the value is in like, experience and stuff.”

 

Mabel gaped. “You’re so  _ wise,  _ Soos!”

 

Soos was on a roll. “One time I went to the store, and I put the interesting divider in my pile. But the lady working there just glared at me and put it besides my stuff. She does the same thing every single time! It would make  _ such  _ a cool sword. I'm on a conquest to buy it, and nothing will stand in my way!” He punched a fist in the air. 

 

Mabel stood with a determined gaze and grabbed Soos’ shirt collar. “Do you want that super cool sword thing?”

 

Soos looked Mabel in the eye. “More than anything else in the world.”

 

Mabel punched her fist in the air. “To the GROCERY STORE!!” 

 

***

 

They came rushing in later, disheveled and sweating. Mabel had a squirrel in her hair and Soos’ shirt was ripped. But the heroes prevailed; Soos was clutching three or so of the dividers. Mabel slammed the door behind her. Through heavy breaths, she unenthusiastically high fived Soos and walked sluggishly towards the living room. The hard labor of their quest warranted rest, hence Mabel then tossing her sapped limbs onto the ragged couch.

 

They heard the unmistakable voice of Deputy Durland cawing from outside. “You can run, but you can't hide!” A bell jingled outside to combat the unmistakable sound of sirens growing louder and louder. Mabel opened the door, screamed, “The only thing you cops hide from is your feelings!” And promptly proceeded to slam the door into the faces of the expectant police people. 

 

Dipper floated in. “Mab- what the hell.” He was about to do the meme-esque-back-out-slowly-this-trecherous-situation-does-not-involve-me retreat when Mabel interjected with a show-and-tell attitude. “Hey Dipper! Wanna see what we stole?”

 

Dipper stared at her with narrowed eyes. “Stealing is illegal, Mabel.”

 

“Well,  _ duh!  _ But it was for the greater good. Look what we got!” Mabel ripped the dividers and stuck them in front of his face.

 

“Agh Mabel, get th-those out of  _ my face.” _ Dipper pushed the things away from himself. Mabel glanced towards the door. “We should lock that.”

 

“They can't search the house without a warrant.” Dipper said, deadpan. 

 

Mabel raised an eyebrow. “I’m not sure that Durland actually knows how to read, let alone is actually aware of fancy-schmancy amendments.”

 

“Well anyways, why did you need those? I could've gotten them for you.” Dipper squinted. “Are those the dividers they use in grocery stores?” 

 

“Yes, they  _ are. _ And we decided to get them because it’s the journey that matters, not the destination.”

 

Mabel high-fived Soos while he put his hands to his face. “Mabel. So profound!”

 

Dipper rolled his eyes. “Mabel's not the profound one, Ralph Waldo Em-”

 

“Blah blah blah, sorry Dipper,  I don't speak nerd! But we have an extra sword thing if you want it.” She held the third one out for him to see.

 

“Come on dood, Mabel and I were gonna duel with them!” Soos gave Dipper an expectant expression.

 

Dipper tried to condescendingly raise an eyebrow, but failed miserably. Mabel noticed and snorted, before breaking down in peals of laughter. She punched Soos’ arm. “You better spoof up your video editing, we’re gonna need to make a compilation of this. Or better yet, a gag reel to that catchy voice-cracking remix you have buried somewhere.”

 

Soos cocked his head. “Why, exactly?”

 

Mabel (expertly) wiggled her eyebrows. “Blackmail.”

 

Dipper (clearly) did not like to be made fun of. To spite his sibling, he exalted an, “En gardé!” He snatched one of their swords out of Mabel's hands and floated away with his pilfered weapon.

 

Mabel put her weapon at the ready, and handed hers to Soos. “No fair! You have the advantage! I’m calling foul on that, mister! Put your feet on the floor and hands in the air!”

 

Soos chased after them, armed with his divider. “Surrender our property!”

 

(When Stan came in later after talking with the cops, he made them relinquish their weapons. As he walked away, he was heard grumbling, “If you guys are going to steal, at least steal something  _ useful.” _ )

 

  1. The Laughing Machine



Soos woke up to the smell of blood, a distinctly iron tang. The walls of the break room had actually not closed in, but Soos still felt his chest tighten at the thought of being in the break room for a second longer. He frenetically jiggled the handle, hoping it wasn't locked. To his relief, the door creaked open and he burst outside-

 

-only to find a scene straight out of a horror game. 

 

Every light was flickering, and blood was on the walls at the consistency of Christmas decorations. Soos proceeded with extreme caution. “Doods?”

 

And then suddenly, a scream.

 

Soos ran. 

 

Stan and Mabel sat next to a small (boyish) shadow of ebony sitting on the floor, (pouring and splashing and pulsing and screaming). Mabel was deadly calm, a somber stare issued in the tremoring phantom’s direction. She held his (Dipper’s, it had to be Dipper’s) hand in a tight grip, while Mr. Pines sat in a weary stool pulled up next to the pair of them. He was hunched, rubbing his temples in exhaustion. Soos didn’t mistake Stan for being unaware; his eyes had the same determined and serious weight as Mabel’s. And as for the demon(the child)?

 

His eyes were dead. That was the only possible way to describe those open, scarred orbs, unblinking with complete and utter terror. Occasionally, he would close his eyelids, as if attempting escape, attempting sleep, trying and clawing out of a prison of mental torture. 

 

Poison gold poured out of his eyes, tributaries of teary angst and martyrdom;  he quivered and caved in on himself. The noise, the thousands of bees carving chalk-laden forks onto plates, bawling with the weight of an eternal, immortal burden. Wailing, screaming, yelling, shouting for an ally, a friend, a savior 

 

(a handyman.) 

 

The eyes snapped up. Golden. Predatory. Saddened. Decayed. And they were searching Soos’  _ being,  _ his  _ soul,  _ and he was as exposed as a dissected frog on a lab table.

 

A voice echoed off the walls. The doom of power and the demon had a verdict.

 

I̬̣ ͔̟̜͖̕s͇̞̫̹̜̻a̙̱w͍̱̺ ̸̠̪y͍̝̤͔ͅo̮͈u ̠̼̺̲̝d̤͎͔͕i̻̞͖e̮̯̠, the demon (Dipper) said.

 

Soos scratched his head.

 

“Ok, so that’s cool and all, but like how does it happen? Is it like, gruesome? Or wait, please don’t tell me that it’s by eating too many burritos. I don’t want to prove  _ Abuelita _ right! I  _ really  _ don’t want to suffocate,  _ I seriously hope that isn’t it!  _ Do I die a hero? That would be total badass. Do I-”

 

He stopped talking. Mabel, Stan, and Dipper all stared at him. Dipper’s eyes were lighter, and suddenly, the shadows the room was wreathed in disappeared. Dipper opened his mouth to breathe, and Soos feared for the worst. 

 

The reaction threw him for a loop. 

 

Dipper was laughing. 

 

“Oh man, Soos, that was one  _ hell  _ of an exorcism.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ugh hiatus I apologize omg!!


End file.
